Auckland’s St Matthew’s church in New Zealand which known for its edgy ads has just put out their most controversial yet – a billboard that aims to remind people that Joseph was in fact Mary’s husband. A representative of the church had this to say:
“It’s playing on those who think of a, god being male and b, impregnating Mary in a very literal way, whereas I, and most of the people at St Matthews, don’t have that belief at all.”
So…is this ad offensive? And would it fly in the US of A???
{ 38 comments… read them below or add one }
may be offensive but its true.
What’s do you mean when you use the words “it’s true” in regards to this? Please kindly elaborate.
I find it very offensive, being that I am a Christian and I dont think this would fly in the USA!
Why so serious?
LOOL!!
Christians are such sensitive fools.
not like those Muslims
You should consider looking up the biblical defintion of “fool” before throwing that word around so carelessly.
No it’s not. It was immaculate conception. Joseph gets no credit for the birth of Jesus as far as sex goes. He was Christ’s father on Earth and a carpenter, nothing more.
Basically!
How do you know? Were you there? NO!
Don’t tell me cause it is written cause that’s just a bunch of cock! I mean crock.
be careful,even if you disagree with stuff dont talk about it so disrespectfully…peace
Your previous statement here is a double standard.. You’re attacking “believer’s” with if they “were there”, yet you imply it “didn’t happen” as if you were there??? How do you suppose God communicates with His people if it’s not through His written Word? Have you ever bothered to ask Him why in writing?
LOL bunch of ….crock
…………………………………………..Not touchin this one….it’s rainin out here in Cali
lmmfao!!!!!
LOL!!
I believe in Jesus and that he died for me….and thats the most important thing…everything else is not that important..and speculation will always exist…it comes with any great person
exactly.
point _ [period].
ppl rag &tear dwn christ &his word but in the end the only that matters is whats in YOUR heart.
you can spend hours, months, years, &a lifetime breaking something down, but its MUCH easier to just love your OWN life.
in due time they all will see.
&father have mercy on their souls when they do.
It was immaculate conception…………….Do you really believe in what you saying???
Please. If somebody born………they did………..”it”………..
“Please forgive me”…………….But not even child in this days, believe in that…..
With all due respect, whether people believe this or not, God did exactly what His Word says exactly how it says He did, and it’s the absolute Truth. Once you get to know God, you’ll understand that all things are possible with Him (starting with this because it concerns Him, His Son, and the Salvation of our souls) , but that requires spending time studying His word, church, and lots of prayer.
Ahhhh, just in time for Christmas
I am not involved in this kinda conversation.”Thou Shalt Not Tempt the Lord Thy God.”
Too bad the people responsible for this OBVIOUSLY don’t know Who God is and take His Word OUT of context, and unfortunetly this DOES NOT help ANYONE who wants to get to know Him, needs His Help, or don’t know Him at all! The Holy Spirit is here to help you understand His word if you don’t understand, please ask HIM : )
I think this is hilarious, to be honest. And the fact that it was defaced not 4 hours after being put up is really “Christian”. Come on people. Lighten up. You’re telling me you’re all FOOLISH enough to believe the whole virgin Mary story to begin with? Really? Are you effing nuts? If anyone told you today that they were pregnant, but never had sex…you’d believe them? NO. But you’re willing to believe a book that’s been rewritten a thousand times by a bunch of control-freaks who want to inject fear into people (and probably sat around smoking a whole lotta weed in the process because some of these stories are just OUT there)?? Seriously? Give your head a shake. Man oh man. What IS this world coming to….?
God’s Word is True, He’s the Creator and can do what seems to be impossible or “unnatural” He’s God, He’s definetly not boring! Please read His Word, study it, ask God to speak to you. Always, always ask Him questions when you don’t understand or even if you feel you do especially for ears to hear exactly what He’s saying. But the choice to “believe” or not is ours, even though in the end He’ll show Himself to be trustworthy, Truth, pure, Holy, Love, and all the other things the bible says He is, even if we don’t know how to accept Him
Hope this helps if you truly want to get to know Him 
God impregnated his own mother to give birth to himself to have himself killed so that he would want to not condemn the rest of his children to hell as long as they believe this story. This is good news?
Jackie u should calm down. U also are a contradiction stating no one was there, yet u claim everything went down exactly as it was written (were u there?). If we know anything at all its the fact that The Word has been tampered with.
I didn’t say “no one was there”. I simply stated what the bible says, and God’s Word is true. If there’s been any tampering, He’ll make it right. I’ll calm down when you change your name
God is in our hearts, and u don’t need a building or a book to prove to u he is real.
The ONLY way God CAN BE in everyone’s hearts is through His Son Jesus when we invite Him in. Jesusin the Word of God says”I AM the WAY, the Truth, and The LIfe, no one comes to the Father but by Me”. If we don’t have Christ in our heart, we don’t have God because Christ is God the Son.
That is a frequently mis-used quote. It comes from the Gospel of John.
But many scholars believe that John’s was an “adoptionist” theology: His gospel doesn’t have a birth narrative because, for John, the circumstances of Jesus’ birth were *irrelevant*. Rather, it begins with the “Logos Hymn” — a prose-poem about the Word of God …. and then, in the next chapter, the Logos (usually translated as “Holy Spirit”) enters *into* Jesus.
Throughout the rest of John, you have Jesus offering varying formulations such as “If you would be as I am, you should ….” — the point being that the Logos, indwelling in Jesus, is doing the speaking, and that this experience is available to *others*.
So, when it says, “No one comes to the Father but by me” …. that isn’t being said by *Jesus*, qua Jesus, but rather by the indwelling _Logos_ *within* Jesus ….. None can come to God except through the Logos, and the Logos it, potentially, available to indwell within all who fulfill certain criteria.
But, of course, to know about this fine distinction you need to either read the Bible in the *original* Greek, or study under scholars who *have*. The standard translations miss subtleties just like this very commonly.
So let me just point out the elephant in the room here.
It is my understanding that Jesus, Joseph, and Mary were all from the MIDDLE EAST.
Can someone please explain the WHITE woman (and man) up there with BLUE EYES to boot?
Don’t want to alienate the Europeans, whose aborginal spirituality was systematically dismantled and destroyed by this invasive *middle-eastern* tradition, about 1500 years ago!
Harp of Hyperion..
I wanted to point out to that person I responded to that Jesus is the ONLY way for God to be in our hearts. That was the 1st scripture that came to mind so that’s how I attempted to communicate truth to that person, but what you responded to me is something I’ve never been taught or heard of.. Thanks to God, and to you for sharing that with me, it’s helped me with my walk with God
Here is what I have to say. “Judge not lest …” see where I’m going with this? If someone erects a billboard that says “God wears stockings and likes to touch little boys.” so what? God will take care of the people responsible as a Christian you need faith and love in God/Jesus/Holy Spirit and nothing more. You don’t need to protect the world from what others have to say about your religion you just have to believe so finding offense in this or anything only shows that you’re easily distracted from what really matters making you kind of a bad Christian. Let your God do his work and you do yours and everything else will work itself out.
In other words, get over it and focus on what counts.
OK I am here to set you all straight…I created the world in six light year days and rested on the seventh light year day. Jesus was like all my sons and daughters of earth . Jesus was Jewish & died Jewish . Like Abraham , Moses and others before him . I sent him on a mission to teach . The Roman Empire turned my words into empty and false words . The Catholic Church was and always will be the Remains of The Roman Empire . The Pope was no more and No Less the leader of Romes Empire.My Real Words Do Not Finish In A BOOK that says THE END . But in a BOOK that says to be continued.My Job will never be finished and I will always need the help of my people.
You theists make me laugh… most of the time.
Taking ancient fairytales, without any form of proof or logic, for granted. And act upon it like it’s the only truth creates funny scenes. You only got to have ‘faith’. Like little children who believe in santa claus, and the flying reindeer.
But sometimes it makes me unhappy, because the world gets fucked up and irrational. Like nobel prize winner Steven Weinberg said:
“Without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil—that takes religion.”.
Religious retardation is the biggest problem of our future, bigger than climate change, bigger than our finite natural resources.
Please, grow into real adults! For a better future for us all!